Indigenous Services

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION STATEMENT

Turning Leaf Support Services acknowledges and respects that the lands on which we gather are the traditional lands of Treaty 1, the original lands of the Anishinaabe, Anisininew, Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. We acknowledge that northern Manitoba includes lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit. Our work also extends throughout Treaty 2, the original lands of the Anishinaabe, Anisininew, Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis, Treaty 4, the original lands of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota Peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis, and Treaty 5, the original lands of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, the Anisininew, Cree and Dene Peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. We respect the original intent of the Treaties that were made on these territories, we acknowledge the harms of the past and the resulting intergenerational trauma, and we dedicate ourselves to moving forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in the spirit of truth and reconciliation. 

Turning Leaf Support Services recognizes the strength, suffering, resilience and rights of our Indigenous friends and family. We are dedicated to fostering meaningful partnerships and relationships with Indigenous employees, Elders, and Community. We understand they are the survivors and the Story-tellers who voiced the Truth that inspired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) and the resulting 94 Calls to Action (established June 2, 2008), the purpose of which was to document the true history of Canada and the lasting impact of Indian residential schools on Indigenous children and their families – then, now, and for generations to come. 

Turning Leaf Support Services is committed to building our understanding of the past and implementing the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report (December 2015). We recognize this report is intended to serve as a guide to redress the harms of colonization and advance the process of reconciliation. 

We acknowledge and respect the truths of more than 2,380 family members, survivors of violence, and Knowledge Keepers shared over two years of cross-country public hearings and evidence gathering during the work of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Turning Leaf Support Services is committed to understanding and implementing the 231 Calls for Justice of the Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report on National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (June 2019), which are directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, and all Canadians. 

We know that as Canada moves into an era of reconciliation with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples, health and wellness and economic development are at the heart of families and communities. Turning Leaf Support Services pledges to continue to actively:

• Provide education for management and all employees on the history of Indigenous Peoples, including the history and legacy of Residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Treaties and Indigenous rights, Indigenous law and Indigenous-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism. (TRC 92-3)
• Provide cultural competency training for all Turning Leaf Support Services employees to deepen the teachings for across the organization. (TRC 23)
• Increase the number of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit employees working at Turning Leaf Support Services. (TRC 23)
• Ensure the retention of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit employees at Turning Leaf Support Services. (TRC 23) 
• Recognize and support Indigenous healing practices in Turning Leaf programming and services and when requested by Indigenous clients, in collaboration with Indigenous healers and Elders. (TRC 22)

We acknowledge the steps to end and redress Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirited, and Gender Diverse People (MMIWG2S+)must be no less monumental than the combination of systems and actions that has worked to maintain colonial violence for generations. A permanent commitment to ending MMIWG2S+ requires addressing the four pathways explored within the Final Report of the National Inquiry into MMIWG, namely: 

• historical, multigenerational, and intergenerational trauma; 
• social and economic marginalization; 
• maintaining the status quo and institutional lack of will; and 
• ignoring the agency and expertise of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. 

“Turning Leaf, and all of its members, is committed to walking the path in partnership with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. We are devoted to understanding the truth about the past and acknowledge the harms colonialism has caused Indigenous Peoples. We commit ourselves to moving forward together in a good way, through healing and reconciliation for all.”
– Barkley Engel, Founder and CEO